Court rules for Coca-Cola heir’s descendants

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of eight descendants of Asa Candler, who founded the Coca-Cola Co.

The descendants had sued a trust company, accusing it of making improper payments to their grandfather and significantly depleting the trust.

Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Robert Benham said that while Reliance Trust Company did not act in bad faith in paying Charles Howard “Buddy” Candler III a total of $1.1 million from the trust during his lifetime, Reliance’s decision-making was “infected with…arbitrariness” and oppressed the grandchildren, who filed suit.